Here is a brand new genre: A black-Christian romantic revenge comedy. It doesn’t quite work, but Tyler Perry is a jewel.
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:106
Fresh:17
Rotten:89
Average Rating:3.9/10
Consensus: Tyler Perry's successful play can't make the move to the screen; this mix of slapstick, melodrama and spirituality lacks a consistent tone.
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
Genre: Television
US Box Office: $50,382,128
Synopsis: Filled with a mix of comedy and drama, the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman is based on the immensely popular play of the same name written by Tyler Perry. The story focuses on Helen McCarter... Filled with a mix of comedy and drama, the film Diary of a Mad Black Woman is based on the immensely popular play of the same name written by Tyler Perry. The story focuses on Helen McCarter (Kimberly Elise), who has seemingly had the perfect life with husband Charles McCarter (Steve Harris). Over the years, Helen has been a faithful and loving wife, while Charles built a successful and lucrative career as a prominent Atlanta attorney. They wear the latest fashions, drive the nicest cars, have all the possessions they need, and they live on an expansive estate complete with an extravagant mansion, swimming pool, tennis court and all the trappings of wealth – a little piece of paradise away from the city. However, on the eve of their 18th wedding anniversary, Helen’s paradise begins to crumble as Charles announces that he wants a divorce. He abruptly and literally tosses Helen out of the mansion to make room for the other woman. With all of her possessions packed in a moving van, Helen starts on her journey to put the pieces of her life back together. Through the assistance of her friends, family, faith, and a twist of fate, Helen finds the strength and empowerment she needs to get control of her circumstances. She also finds that the tragic events of her life soon become comic, especially with the guidance and help-- mostly unsolicited, by the way--of her pot-smoking, gun-toting, and much beloved, grandmother figure Madea (Tyler Perry). Director Darren Grant brings Tyler Perry’s vision to the screen by intricately weaving together a mix of drama and comedy to tell the universal experience of broken hearts, redemption, forgiveness, recovery, new found love, inner strength and the importance of family and faith as revealed through a cast of colorful and sometimes familiar characters. [More]
Starring: Kimberly Elise, Tyler Perry, Steve Harris, Cicely Tyson
Starring: Kimberly Elise, Tyler Perry, Steve Harris, Cicely Tyson, Tamara Taylor, Shemar Moore
Director: Darren Grant
Director: Darren Grant
Screenwriter: Tyler Perry
Producer: Tyler Perry, Reuben Cannon
Composer: Camara Kambon
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Helen's chaste swain wants intimacy, not sex. C'mon—even Baptists are interested in sex. They just don't do it standing up, because someone might think they were dancing.
Perry's performance as Madea may have worked onstage, but seems out of place on the screen, even though it's clear he has a great deal of affection for the character.
Those who aren't already converts to Perry's dramaturgy will wonder what elevates this material above, say, a typical episode of '227.'
The film itself is a touch insane, veering from comedy to cornball melodrama (and torture!) with such startling alacrity that viewers might laugh and not know if they're supposed to.
...loudly preach(es) Christian values, then turns around to cheer on its wronged-wife heroine as she takes cruel revenge against her (now crippled and helpless) husband...
If not for the larger-than-life multitasking by Tyler Perry, Diary of a Mad Black Woman would be just another tedious, over-the-top movie about self-discovery.
Emotionally satisfying (if a bit simplistic), yet Perry dilutes its potency by casting himself in ... sitcom roles.
One is left with the sense that while Perry has captured certain truths about human experience, he undermines himself by ignoring psychological detail in favor of big gestures and simplistic explanations.
Nobody in the movie seems to know quite what sentiment he or she should be channeling at any given moment.
I'm not sure if Diary of a Mad Black Woman is heartfelt or cynical, but if anyone can write a movie that's both, it's probably Tyler Perry.
Perry's Madea is so annoying that about halfway through I was wishing the projector would malfunction.
"Waiting to Exhale" crossed with "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps"...laughable, but oddly likeable
Some may question the combination of marital drama and madness with earthy slapstick humor but it, surprisingly, works – at times.
Talk about mixed messages. Here's a cruel, mean-spirited movie that's supposed to have a Christian theme.
A lot of it shouldn't work -- and doesn't -- but even while you're sitting there, thinking that it can't go much farther off track, it manages to be fairly involving.
This is a film that’s gone way beyond the realm of bad, past disaster. This one’s in the area of all-time grand mistakes.
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